The Garage, Birmingham, AL

For those of you native to Birmingham, The Garage is an obvious treasure and you don’t need me to tell you about it. But, for those of you who have never been or who might be heading through, it is absolutely worth the visit. We first found The Garage four years ago when we were touring through and playing at The Nick. The Nick itself, steeped in club/rock history, is one of those kind of places that “builds your character” as a band. I think they have held onto some loop hole in the liquor laws to where they can sell drinks for 23 total hours. It is famous for set times that are the most packed around 3 in the morning.Needless to say, it definitely has it’s own “vibe”.

Anyways, I think we must had driven in to town late that night because all that I can remember is a late set time, it was already dark outside, and we were hungry. The club owner told us that we could find really good sandwiches if we walked up around the corner to The Garage. Then he got a curious look on his face and said, “You all should be fine to walk there as long as there are five of you.” Nice.

What we found was completely unexpected. The Garage is a restaurant with absolutely DELICIOUS sandwiches, but that is just the beginning. The restaurant itself is literally a courtyard surrounded by old garages that have been filled to the brim with every type of curiosity and then locked shut. At night the garages are lit up to display the treasures of statues, ironworks, typewriters, books, antique baby dolls, glass globes, old bicycles, etc. We ordered sandwiches and Makers from the bar and then walked outside to wander mesmerized from lit garage to lit garage.

This time we returned to Birmingham with local friends in tow. When we described our fantastical memories of The Garage, they didn’t even flinch. Instead, they piled us all into the car and called more friends to join us. They were proud and unsurprised by our enthusiasm and on tasting the sandwiches for the second time, I knew why. Good gracious, it was incredible. Go there. Go there. Go there.